


Public Image

by BBQChickenPizza



Category: Show By Rock!! - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23915749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBQChickenPizza/pseuds/BBQChickenPizza
Summary: With the growing publicity of Mashumairesh, Himeko has to face one of the greatest hurdles of any artist: nosy fans.
Relationships: Mashima Himeko/Howan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Public Image

> I’m on my way now.
> 
> See you soon!❤
> 
> I can see the store. Are you ready?

Himeko put her phone back into her pocket and made her way into the store to find Howan. Today’s plan was to have the band all meet for dinner and discuss new song ideas. In typical Howan fashion however, she had no clue how to navigate from work to the agreed upon cafe by herself, so it was up to Himeko to save the day. Never mind that they had purposefully picked a spot near her work.

Himeko quickly skimmed the store for any sign of white hair and fox ears. She took her phone back out to double check for any new messages, but no luck. As she started to get frustrated, she heard a familiar voice nearby. It was definitely Howan, and she was… singing. Himeko rushed over in bewilderment.

At the other end of an aisle, there stood Howan surrounded by three small girls: a bat, bunny and deer. They all huddled with their hands clasped and eyes sparkling as Howan finished singing a short verse. They immediately erupted in applause and thank yous. A few other nearby customers joined in.

Howan gave a bow, then finally noticed Himeko as she stood back up.

“Ah, Himekoooo!” Howan waved both her arms as she shouted.

Himeko turned stiff as she felt all attention shift to her. She quickened her pace over to Howan to put a stop to the commotion.

“Jeez, no need to shout!” she grumbled.

Howan gave a carefree giggle.

“Himeko! These customers are fans!”

“Fans…?” Himeko didn't quite follow.

“Of Mashumairesh!!” the three girls all rang out, focusing their awestruck gazes on Himeko.

“Wha-?”

“We saw you at the Rock Festival!” said the deer.

“You came out of nowhere!” added the bunny.

“And blew us all away!” finished the bat.

“Ah,” was all Himeko could muster. Their energy was a bit much for her. The fans all squeed with joy.

“Meeting two band members like this? This is the best day ever!” said the bat.

“Do you work here too, Ms. Himeko?” asked the bunny

“Uh, no, I-”

Howan perked up, “Oh! Sorry, Himeko! I’ll go get my things!” Without another word, she took off to the other end of the store.

“Hey, wait!” Himeko weakly reached out as she watched Howan disappear behind a shelf. She slowly turned back to the three giddy girls. She would just have to fend for herself these next few moments.

The deer got the first word in. “So you’re picking up Ms. Howan? Were you two meeting up with the rest of the band to go practice? So diligent!”

“Kinda-” began Himeko

“What studio does your band record at? Is it super high class for only the best?” came the bunny next.

“Uh-”

“Has the band decided on their next event? I can’t wait to hear all the wonderful songs you’ve got waiting!” followed the bat.

“We-”

“Who wrote the song you performed at the Rock Festival?! It was so touching! I’d love to know if it was written for anyone!”

By this point, Himeko lost track of who was speaking.

“That was-”

“I heard ‘Mashumairesh’ came from the name of one of the band members! Is that true?! Was it your name, Ms. Himeko?! Are you the band’s leader?!”

“Not exa-”

“How did the whole band meet?! Ms. Howan said she isn’t from Midi City!”

“Well, uh-”

“Is it true Ms. Howan was almost recruited by _REIJINSIGNAL_?! I swear I saw her at one of their concert broadcasts!”

“No, she-”

“Is it true Ms. Howan sang the theme song for this store and that’s why she got a job here?!”

“What? Who said-”

“You and Ms. Howan looked so cute on the stage together! Are you two really close?!”

“HUH?!” Himeko finally raised her voice as her cheeks turned red.

The girls finally went quiet, along with the rest of the store.

“Himeko!” Howan’s voice softly broke the air. Footsteps quickly approached from behind, followed by Howan lunging onto Himeko’s arm.

“Wuh?!” Himeko’s whole face grew redder.

“Oooh!” the three fans all nodded in unison. They understood the situation. The rest of the store all silently agreed and resumed their background chatter.

“Ready when you are!” Howan’s voice carried the usual innocent tone.

“Y-yeah. Let's be off,” Himeko began to take a sauntering step toward the exit.

The three fans all silently watched until just as Howan and Himeko were leaving their view.

“Thank you very much! Congratulations to the two of you!” they all shouted in unison.

Howan looked back, slightly confused at the second remark, but simply nodded and waved. Himeko kept her focus ahead, putting all her energy into moving her oddly heavy legs.

Howan turned back to her. “They were so nice! Meeting fans is so exciting! Don’t you think, Himeko?”

Her bandmate continued staring ahead, the red from her cheeks nearly gone.

“... Himeko?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, sure,” she mumbled as she became lost in her thoughts.

They continued walking along in silence for a few minutes or so. Howan began to happily hum to herself.

Just as the shop entered their sight, Himeko finally snapped out of her daze and turned to Howan.

“But, you know, mind what you say to fans! They love to ask all sorts of questions and start rumours!”

Howan cocked her head. “Really? What kind of rumours?”

“Uh, well... maybe rumour isn’t quite it. I guess it’s a fair assumption to make…” Himeko trailed off.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Howan leaned right up to Himeko’s face. The air between them immediately grew warm. Himeko stumbled to say anything.

“Yo, Mashumairesh! You rock!” came a boy’s voice approaching them.

Howan turned to respond, giving Himeko her much needed space.

“Yeah, yeah! Get 'em good!” said Himeko, giving her grandmother’s patented gesture.

The boy returned it as he continued walking by with a girl in tow. She silently stared for a moment, then spoke up with an energy much like the fans from earlier.

“You two are so cool and cute together!”

“Gah,” was all Himeko could let out. _This is just gonna keep happening more and more, isn’t it?_

“Thank you!” said Howan, chipper as ever.

Himeko took a deep breath and stepped forward to turn and directly face Howan.

“Say, Howan. What do you think people see us as?”

Howan blinked and put a hand to her chin.

“Mmm? Well…” she raised a finger as she reached a conclusion. “A band that likes to share the fun of music!”

Himeko chuckled a little and shook her head. “That’s... a fair point. Let me narrow things a little. What do you think people see just _you and I_ as?”

Howan contemplated this question and muttered to herself.

“Hmm! Aaaah… Umm, well, we’re both on guitar and lead vocals... Oh!” Her ears went rigid with realization. “Himeko, did you want to switch to center stage? I guess it would make sense with our band name!”

Himeko reeled at the thought. “N-no way! That’s too much attention! Extra eyes on me is exactly what I’m worried about here!”

She cleared her throat to calm herself before continuing.

“One more time. Howan, what do you think people _should_ think about just the two of us? On or off stage?”

“Ohh!” Howan seemed to catch on right away this time. “Are you worried what people would call us? What word should we use, then?” She closed her eyes in concentration. “How to describe it? How about… ‘soulmates’?”

“Ehh?!” Himeko felt her legs tremble. “T-that’s way too extravagant, don’t you think?! That could spread some crazy rumours that we’re married or something!” She froze as she realized what she said. She covered her deeply reddened face with her hands.

Howan giggled, her tail rapidly swishing from the thought. “Is that so bad, though?”

Himeko slowly lowered her hands to speak. “I-I mean I’m not against it- Augh! That’s really saying too much! B-but look, we’re a bit young for that, don’t you think?! It’s way too soon to think about that! You’re the one always saying we’ll be together forever, so that means we’ll have a long future ahead of us to make a decision, right?!” Himeko felt like her heart would leap out of her chest. She could barely focus on Howan while saying this, but worse still was the thought of all the people walking by.

For her part, Howan merely gave a strong nod in agreement. She attempted to make a determined, serious face, but her tail was still happily wagging like a child. Watching it swish around was oddly calming to Himeko. She slowly steadied her breath and gathered her words.

“Look, as long as you’re fine with people asking and knowing though, and there _will_ be a lot of people, then how about we go with ‘girlfriends’?” She slowly reached out and grabbed Howan’s hand. To Himeko’s surprise, it was shaking just like her own. She looked up and exchanged a smile and giggled with Howan. Both their faces were equally red. It was all a nice reassurance to her.

“Aww, no ring or ceremony?” came a familiar, playful voice from behind.

Himeko jumped and turned around to confirm her worst fear.

There stood their bandmates, Ruhuyu and Delmin, the former looking a tad too smug.

Himeko tried to control her volume. “W-What are you doing here?! Were you listening the whole time?!” 

Ruhuyu gave a villainous chuckle. “We were waiting by the cafe window and saw you two standing around out here. We just had to come over and see all the fuss!”

“Congratulations on your engagement,” said Delmin without a hint of jest.

Himeko groaned. “Didn’t I just say we aren’t getting married?!”

“ _Yet!_ ” shot back Ruhuyu. “But it’s all decided that you will some day, right?”

“Agreeing to marry at a later date is the definition of an engagement,” said Delmin with a faint smile.

Himeko put her hand to her head in exasperation. “I swear, lately it’s been like this every day with you bunch!”

Ruhuyu struck a dramatic pose, radiating smug. “Of course! How else could we hope to call upon _Lunatic Divine Revelation_ for your songwriting?”

“Excuse me?!”

Delmin nodded. “Your passion for your fiancee is highly prevalent throughout your lyrics.”

Howan seemed surprised by this claim. “Ooh! You’ve been writing about me this whole time, Himeko?”

Himeko looked back and forth between Howan and her agitators.

“Can we just go get some food, already?!” she moaned in despair.

Ruhuyu wouldn’t budge. “Oh? I’m not hearing a ‘No’!”

Himeko sighed and gently tugged Howan’s hand to start walking with her. “I’ve already been asked enough questions today. Try again later!”

Ruhuyu followed in a huff “No fair! You’ll just keep ignoring it!”

Delmin was close behind. “Perhaps it would be best for our productivity to instate a limit on Ms. Ruhuyu’s antics.”

“Whaa?! Delmin, how could you?!” Ruhuyu played up her shock like usual.

Howan and Himeko laughed as the two continued their act. As they entered the cafe, a waitress greeted them.

“Welcome! What’ll it be for you two lovebirds today?”

Himeko’s eyes widened, but she forced a smile and kept her calm.

“It’s really that obvious to everyone, isn’t it?”

Howan giggled and scooched closer to Himeko as they picked a seat with their squabbling bandmates.

By the end of the meeting, they hardly got any work done. But as long as they were enjoying each other’s company, it was time well spent.


End file.
